Cannondale Jekyll Ultimate

$8,000

THE SELL: Two-in-one superbike.THE TEST: Flip the handlebar switch to Elevate mode and the bottom-bracket height increases, the damping stiffens, and you're suddenly hammering on a bike made for pedaling hard. Switch to Flow mode and the seat and head-tube angles go slack, the sag increases, and you've got a gravity sled. The brains of the system lie in the three-chamber Franken-shock, which allows you to toggle between three- and six-inch travel settings. And it works really well: "Wow! Pedal up, jump off, ride down—I finally need only one bike," mused one reviewer.THE VERDICT: It's no gimmick. The (impressively light) Jekyll performs equally well in both modes. 26 lbs; cannondale.comCLIMBING: 4.2DESCENDING: 4.3

BEHIND THE TEST: Road and mountain bikes were tested in Tucson, Arizona; special thanks to the Arizona Inn and Fairwheel Bikes in Tucson and the Broken Spoke in Santa Fe.